He said, she said

People do a lot of things when they talk. That is to say, the act of talking can fit innumerable scenarios when you’re writing dialogue, and some people indicate this by tacking on colorful dialogue cues in their writing.

Characters can…

Remonstrate.
Boast.
Expound.
Scream/shout.
Explain.
Bargain.

And so on…

This article talks about how there seem to be two extremes in this literary vice…those who use “said” for all of their dialogue, and those who tag character voices with so many descriptive verbs that the dialogue feels like a sparring match with all the ducking, bobbing, weaving and jabbing of the voices.

My opinion (in most circumstances) is that the story context, with all the action and emotion shown in the writing, can give the reader an accurate feel for how the character is talking at that moment. Words can portray tension and energy as much as the most carefully crafted fight scene, and so the dialogue tag of “said” is all-purpose, often invisible to the reader, and so less intrusive into the story. There are times where I do say, “he shouted,” instead of sticking in a bunch of exclamation points, or “she whispered,” but again, these shifts of tone can be linked to what’s happening in the scene. I could say, “She leaned in, voice lowering as embarrassment pinked her cheeks.”

Where do you fall on this, or do you see it as a non-issue? Is it just a matter of preference?

I see that smile.